Homebrew Arkos Human Species Details

"My people are one of change and at the same time they are one of tradition. Just like a river which flows down the mountain we seek out every possibility, our curiosity leads us through every nook and cranny available to us and yet as a whole we are often followers, carving the wound we leave ever deeper, bringing more and more of us with it. Until we are the torrent which can crush opponents who stand in our way and should that fail, we simply change, mold, work the problem till we have worn it down to our liking. 

I love my people; we are deep and beautiful just like the water we were made from. We dance, and we laugh, and we heal. We bring life and make things grow bigger than before. Yet now, though it has taken me a long while to do so, I have accepted the ugly of us too. The way things rot quicker in water, how we break down so thoroughly what we do not accept. How when the rain comes, we can become so destructive, raging at change that we did not intend. In that acceptance I have found peace. 

I fought in so many wars, ended so many lives and brought change where it was not needed to peoples who did not want it. I was young and foolish and believed blindly as we humans often do. My dear sweet Annika changed me for the better and through her sorrow over the violence that I learned the true horrors of what I and my people had done. I changed and no longer wished to ever take a life. It was then that we fled to Konnen."

— The Great Chronicler 

 

Antiquity and Avant-garde

Just as Aqua intended humans are fluid and innovative and yet on the same note they are stubborn and cling to tradition. More so than the elves or orcs they form many bonds in their lives and are more so dependent on each other. It seems wherever humans can be found that more and more will flock to them. Due to this it is said that human societies naturally evolved quicker and thus cultivated their appreciation for the arts earlier, yet they also learned the art of war quicker as well. It is that desire to bring all humans under one banner, to all flow together, that allowed the other races to catch up in development as the humans set their species back several times in that era of crowns.   

Nonetheless they once had a rich history, with many ancient kingdoms acting as beacons for their people in a world full of wild magics, untamable beasts, and elusive but deadly monsters. Like the mountain runoff rushes for the lakes in the valley, humans flooded areas of safety and built many wonders which were lost during the Ascension. To this day Conclaves dive into the mist looking for both answers to the cataclysm but also to recover lost artifacts of great beauty and use. Human structures are often targeted as they were some of the most prolific as well as typically being much easier to access than the lost cities of the dwarves. 

  

Kinship and Kindness

Despite the trouble humans often bring with them many of the other races find them charming despite this. It is said that because they naturally wish to fit in wherever they go that humans often adapt quickly and learn how best to be liked by others. They are oftentimes kind and thoughtful culturally, accepting others into their ranks with open arms. This is of course not always true as like any race there are individuals who do not fit the norm but as a whole this is a belief most of their fellow races have of them. Whenever a human is found among other cultures they have oftentimes adapted wholly to their new peoples and home, such as learning to leap from branch to branch as the wild elves do or learning to hunt as viciously as the orcai do or learning to mimic the intricate skill of crafting that the dwarves have been blessed with. 

None however are regarded as kindly by humans as their own cousins the Merfolk. Merfolk are beloved like the good spirits and fairies of old tales. Their beauty and mystery preying on the base feelings of wonder humans are prone to. However, Merfolk do not actually prey on Humans which is why they can have such a love for each other. Other races find Merfolk frightening at best, monstrous at worst due to how their ancestors often hunted other sinescale races. Human sailors of old however saw Merfolk on the open ocean as a sign of good will from Aqua and would toss gifts over the side of their ships in gratefulness. In turn Merfolk would often sing them beautiful songs that were not woven with their typical beguiling magics. This close-knit bond is what made the Ascension so much worse for the two races as a whole since the loss of over ninety percent of the Merfolk race devastated their land born cousins as well.

 

Heros and Heritage

The Herald of Dragons was a human woman by the name of Ceryxia, she was a Dragonsworn or Drautas which is to say she served and was bound by magic to a dragon of ancient times. She is the most well-known human of all of Arkos for in her life, she saved many dragons from the doom of their kind: Greed. 

When she lost her Dragon master, Ceryxia begged the elements to spare her master's spawn which she had been left to care for, from the same fate of their mother. In a rare act the elemental titans answered but it came with a cost. Little is known of the details of the words supposedly exchanged between Ceryxia and the elements but what is known is that her soul was tied to one of the hatchlings and that she was the first Dragon Rider.  It became her mission afterwards to find the souls which had been tied to the rest of the clutch she'd been left in charge of, and she was successful in finding and founding the first Conclave. Together the first Conclave would find other clutches of eggs left abandoned by dead parents and beg for their lives to be saved as well. For centuries Ceryxia and her people worked tirelessly but what they could not foresee was just how world shifting their work had become. 

Soon Kings and Queens began to catch on and discover that though The Herald and her people could not be swayed to take part in war, that they themselves could claim eggs and gather their own Dragon riders. Soon after war changed and magics became more prominent in the bloodlines of the sinescale races. Seeing the devastation she had inadvertently wrought Ceryxia took her riders and flew far from the known world, into the undiscovered and untamed wilds. For many ages it was unknown what had happened to Ceryxia and the riders but near the end of the Age of Crowns the floating city of Konnen was discovered. It is said that after settling that Ceryxia realized the wilds were too dangerous for her people and with other mages she worked to lift their city from the earth. This is how Konnen came to be and why its structure is dedicated to the worship of the elements as well as the comfort of dragons. Oddly enough though before the current King Kyrell dragon riders did not hold positions of power within the city's government, records say the though Ceryxia ruled as Queen for a time that she gave up the title rather quickly, stating that Dragon riders already held too much power and that they would need to be humble to bend the knee to a ruler who was not one of them.  In her honor there has not been one since then, at least until the dragonless citizens of Konnen demanded that Kyrell be made king. Proclaiming him the "New Herald" for his actions in saving the city when the mist came. 

 

Human Names

Humans are typically named after landmarks, creatures, or features of theirs. (The humanoid language Gawyr is loosely based on the Welsh language in this setting)

Female Names: Gwen (Bright/Blessed), Catrin (Pure Water), Eira (Snow), Morwen (Sweet Maiden), etc.

Male Names: Afon (River), Colwyn (A Northern Bay), Emrys (Immortal), Haul (Sunlight), etc.

Arkos Human Traits

Your human has behaviors and skills reflecting their heritage as an elemental soul of Aqua.

Age

Humans typically live around 80 years.

Size

Humans range from under 5 to over 6 feet tall and typically have lithe but strong swimmer builds. Your size is Medium.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Water in the Blood

Though Humans are not venomous like their Merfolk brethren, they are still resistant to poison.   

Friendly Faces

You have proficiency in the Persuasion skill.

Flow Together

While an ally is within five feet of an enemy you may add a +2 bonus to hit. This is an ability that can be used up to your proficiency bonus. 

Adaptable

Just like the river flows around any obstacle humans adapt and change to survive. Take a feat. 

Languages

You can speak, read, and write Gadwyr and one other language. Gadwyr is a melodic, bubbling sounding language that almost seems to trick the ear with the way it ebbs and flows with gaps between sounds that feel somehow still connected.